A goepoeation



' PATENTED FEB. 23, 1904.

J. 0. EDWARDS. FILLING FEEDER MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC LooMs.

APPLIGATION FILED GOT. 23,1903;

No,753,054, Patented February-23,1904.

U ITED ST TES PATENT OFFICE,

JOHN C. EDVVABDS, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS, ,ASSIGNOR TO DRAPERCOMPANY, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, A'CORPORATION OF MAINE. m I

FILLING-FEEDERMECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC Looms.

sPEcIFrcA'rmN forming part of Letters Patent No. 753,054, dated February23, 1964.

Application filed October 23, 1903. Serial No. 178,269. (No model.) I

T all wlwm it Z/ COW/661%: ofthe feeder 'being shown in section. Fig. 3

Be it known that I, JOHN C. EDWARDS, a, is a view similar to Fig. 1, butshowing the citizen of the United States, residing at Brooktransferrerat the end of its operative moveline,lvlassachusett s,have invented anImprovement and having just inserted a filling-carrier 5 ment inFilling-Feeder Mechanism for Autoin the shuttle. Fig. 4 is a frontelevation of matic Looms, of which the followingdescripthe pawl setteror connection between the tion, in connection with the accompanyingtransferrer and the actuating pawl. of the 5 5 drawings, is aspecification, like characters on feeder, and Fig. 5 is a similar viewof a modithe drawings representing like parts. fied form of suchconnection or pawl-setter to I This invention relates to automaticfillingbe described. I

replenishing looms of the Northrop'type, of In the present embodiment ofmy invention which the loom forming the subject-matter of thetransferrer and the actuating device or 0 United States Patent No.529,940 is an exampawl for the feeder are coaxially mounted; ple. butthe transferrer has an angular movement I5 v My invention particularlyrelates to the fillindependent of such device during a portioning-feeder mechanism of such looms; and it of the transferring stroke ormovement, the has for its object the production of novel and latter partof such movement acting, through 6 5 simple means for effecting theintermittent or means to be described, to positively set orpostep-by-step movement of the feeder to theresition such device. Onthereturn movement by place the filling-carriers into positionone of thetransferrer a spring is caused to act after another to be transferred.upon the actuating device and operate the In the present embodiment ofmy invention same in a yielding manner to advance-the 70 the advance orfeedingmovement of the feeder feeder without shock or jar, such movementis eifected by or through the return of the of the actuating devicebeing positively ter- 5 transferrer to normal position and in such aminated by a fixed abutment or stop, sothat manner that the advance iseffected without oboverrunning or racing of the feeder iselimijectionable shock or jar to the feeder or the nated.filling-carriers held therein. I have also pro- As will appearhereinafter, the actuating devided means to stop the advance of thefillingvice and a device on the transferrer both act 3 feeder when thesame has been movedahead to lock the feeder from forward movement apredetermined amount independently of the during the normal operation ofthe loom. filling-carriers therein, such predetermined Referring toFigs. 1 and 3, the lay A slot- 80 movement accompanying eachcompleteoperted below the replenishing shuttle-box M and ation of thetransferrer. having a hunter C the shuttle S, constructed The variousnovel features of my invention and arranged to automatically threaditself and the mode of operation thereof will be fully when afreshsupply of filling is inserted theredescribed in the subjoinedspecification and in, the stand A mounted on the breast-beam 5particularly pointed out in the following A and having secured to it afixed horizontal claims. stud a, on which the filling-feederis rotatably4 Figure 1 is a transverse section of a portion mounted, and thesubstantially circular guard of an automatic filling-replenishing loom,or flange a on the stand A may be and are taken at right angles to theaxis of and beof well-known construction. 9 tween the ends of thefilling-feeder, with one The filling-feeder comprises two disks, onlypractical embodiment of my invention applied one of which, as a, isshown, supports the thereto, the parts being shown in normalpofilling-carriers or bobbins Z), the disk a being sition with thefeeder locked from movement. peripherally notched at a to receive theheads Fig. 2 is a partial elevation thereof, the guard of thefilling-carriers, the feeder rotating on 95 being broken out and one ofthe ends or disks the stud a and having an attached toothed disk orratchet a its teeth corresponding in number to the notches as in PatentN o. 66%790, to which reference may be had. The circularly-arrangedfilling-carriers are removed one by one from the feeder by thetransferrer f, its hub f being mounted to rock on a stud f, rigidlysecured to the stand, and herein I have shown the stud reduced indiameter at its outer end at (see dotted lines, Fig. 2) for a purpose tobe described. The retracting-spring S for the transferrer, thetip-engaging arm 22, the notched dog m pivotally mounted on thedepending end f of the transferrer, and the means for bringing said doginto the path of the hunter C to operate the transferrer may be and areall of well-known construction. A locking finger or prong f is formed onthe transferrer to engage the ratchet a when the transferrer is in"normal position, Fig. 1, to lock the feeder from movement, operativemovement of the transferrer withdrawing the finger and unlocking thefeeder, reengagement of said finger and ratchet occurring when thetransferrer returns to normal position and when the advance movement ofthe feeder is completed.

I have herein shown the actuating device for the feeder as a pawl 19,shaped to engage and cooperate with the ratchet a the shank p of thepawl being enlarged at its forward end to form an elongated loop 39mounted to slide longitudinally and also rock on the reduced end f ofthe transferrer-hub. A washer 6, pinned to the end f maintains the pawlin proper position on the hub, and by reference to Fig. 2 it will beseen that the pawl-shank is bent laterally to bring the pawl into properposition with relation to the ratchet.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, a spring 8 is interposed between the hub andthe rear end of the loop 10 said spring acting to press the pawl towardand into engagement with the ratchet, while permitting the necessarylongitudinal movementofthe pawl over a ratchettooth as it is set orplaced in operative position.

I have provided means to positively set the pawl or actuating device byor through operative movement of the transferrer and to operate the pawlin a yielding manner on the return of the transferrer to thereby effectthe advance of the feeder. To this end an elongated yoke h (shownseparately in Fig. 4) is rigidly secured to and projects above thetransferrer, the shank p of the pawl passing loosely through the yoke,the upper end it thereof being considerably above the shank under normalconditions, so that the transferrer has a limited angular movementindependent of the pawl and its shank. A leafspring 3 Figs. 1 and 3, isherein shown as interposed between the lower end if of the yoke and theshank 12, said spring being rigidly secured at one end to the under sideof the shank, the free end of the spring projecting through the yoke.When the transferrer is elevated, as in Fig. 1, the part b isin-engagement with and flexes the spring, maintaining the actuatingdevice in the position shown and against a fixed abutment or stop a" onthe stand A the abutment positively stopping further upward swing ofsaid actuating device. At such time said device also acts as a lock forthe feeder, as any tendency to move it forward would have to overcomethe combined action of springs s ands as well as the stress of thetransferrer-spring S Thus a double lock is provided for the feederentirely independent of the filling-carriers therein, and it will alsobe observed by inspection of Fig. 1 that when the actuating deviceengages the abutment a" the said device and through it the feederis-brought to a stop instantly and positively.

With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1 let it be supposed thatfilling replenishment is called for. The transferrer is moved down onits operating stroke and engages the endmost filling-carrier b of theseries and transfers it to the shuttle, and during the first part ofsuch movement the finger f unlocks the feeder; but the actuating devicestill acts as a lock. During the latter part of the operative movementof the transferrer the head it of the 'yoke it engages the pawl-shank pand swings the same down on the hub f as a center, thereby positivelysetting or placing the actuating device in operative position, thespring 8 permitting the pawl to click over one tooth of the ratchet aand then. expanding. The parts thus assume the position shown in Fig. 3as the transferrer completes its operative movement, and the pawl 10 isin engagement with a fresh tooth of the ratchet. It should be noted thatas the transferrer begins its downward swing the foot 70 of the yokemoves away from and permits the spring .9 to expand, its fully-expandedposition being shown in Fig. 3, and then there is some clearance betweenthe spring and the foot 71. Having inserted the filling-carrier in theshuttle,the latter moves back and the transferrer begins its returnmovement to normal position, and when the foot of the yoke again engagesthe spring .9 it flexes it, and thereby yieldinglystarts the upwardswing of the actuating device. The latter in turn then starts, withoutshock or jar, the advance or feed movement of the feeder to position thenext filling-carrier, and as the transferrer reaches its normal positionthe spring .9 is

practically forced against the shank of the pawl, so that final movementof the latter is positive. This continues until the actuating deviceengages the abutment a, whereupon the advance of the feeder is instantlyterminated, the transferrer simultaneously coming to rest with thefinger f in locking engagement with the ratchet. Should one or morefilling-carriers be absent, the feeder cannot overrun, as will beobvious, and for every operation of the transferrer the feeder will beadvanced a predetermined distance and no more. This is an importantfeature, as overrunning of the feeder is objectionable for variouspractical reasons.

While retrograde movement of the feeder when unlocked is resisted by thepreponderance of weight of the filling-carriers behind the center ofrotation of the feeder, I prefer to employ a detent-pawl to positivelyprevent such retrogression. For this purpose a detent-pawl t isfulcrumed at t on an ear a, formed on the guide (0 the pawl having alaterally-extended tip t to cooperate with the upper sides of thenotches a' of the disk 6;. The tail i of the pawl is upturned and bentinward in front of the guide and pressed against it by a spring 8X,- thelatter yielding as the pawl clicks past the part of the disk between twonotches when the feeder is ad- 'vanced. As the end 15 of the tailengages the guide, it will be seen that retrogression of the feedercannot take place at any time.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a modification of the connection between thetransferrer and feeder-actuating device using a coiled spring, theyoke-like connection is having a socket is in its lower end to receiveone end of the coiledspring s. The inner faces of the sides of saidconnection are recessed, as at is, (see dotted lines,) to receive aslide-block against which the free end of the spring bears. Thepawl-shank 19 passes through the yoke above the block k and under theyokehead 70 and the operation of the device is substantially ashereinbefore described.

My invention is not restricted to the precise construction andarrangement herein shown and described nor to the exact construction ofvarious details thereof, as the same may be modified or changed indifferent particulars without departing from the spirit and scope of myinvention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A movable filling-feederto hold a series of filling-carriers, anactuating device therefor, a transferrer having a movement independentof said device, and means operated by transferring movement of saidtransferrer to positively set the actuating device, return movement ofthe transferrer acting through said means and the actuating device toyieldingly start and complete the movement of the feeder.

2. A movable filling-feeder to hold a series of filling-carriers, anactuating device therefor, a transferrer, and means operated there: byduring the latter partof its transferring movement to positively set theactuating device, and to operate the same and advance the V feederduring the latter part of the return movement of the transferrer tonormal position.

3. A movable filling-feeder to hold a series of filling-carriers, anactuating device therefor, a transferrer, and a connection between themhaving a limited movement relative to said device, transferring movementof the transferrer acting through said connection to positively move andset the actuating device, the latter acting to yieldingly start andpositively complete feeder movement on the return movement of thetransferrer.

4. A rotatable filling-feeder to hold a series of circularly-arrangedfilling-carriers, an actuating device for the feeder, a fixed supportfor said device, a transferrer, and means operated by transferringmovement thereof to positively set the actuating device, return movementof said transferrer acting through said means to first yieldingly andthen positively operate said device to effect movement of the feeder. I

5. A rotatable filling-feeder to hold a series of circularly-arrangedfilling-carriers, an actuating device for the feeder, a transferrer, acommon fixed support on which the actuating device and transferrer aremovably mounted, and means intermediate the transferrer and actuatingdevice to positively position the latter by or through operativemovement of the transferrer, and to operate said actuating device byreturn movement of the transferrer, and thereby advance the feeder.

6. A movable filling-feeder to hold a series of filling-carriers, anactuating device therefor, a transferrer, and means to positively moveand set the actuating device by transferring movement of thetransferrer, said means including a spring, return movement of thetransferrer acting through the spring to yieldingly start and thenpositively complete operative movement of the actuating device tothereby advance the feeder.

7. A movable filling-feeder to hold a series of filling-carriers, meansindependent of the filling-carriers to normally look the feeder, atransferrer, operative movement thereof re leasing the feeder from thelocking means, and means positively moved by the transferrer intoposition to start the feeder, said means thereafter acting to move saidfeeder forward during the latter part of the return of the transferrerto normal position.

8. A rotatable filling-feeder to hold a series of circularly-arrangedfilling-carriers, a rock- 9. A rotatable filling-feeder to hold a seriesof circularly-arranged filling-carriers, an actuating device therefor, atransferrer having an angular movement independent of said device. andmeans intermediate the actuating device and transferrer to positivelyposition the former by operative movement of the latter, and to operatethe actuating device and thereby advance the feeder by return movementof the transferrer to normal position.

10. A rotatable filling-feeder to hold a series of circularly-arrangedfilling-carriers, an actuating device therefor, a transferrer having anangular movement independent of said device, and means, including aspring, intermediate'said actuating device and transferrer, operativemovement of the latter acting positively through said means to set theactuating device, return movement of the transferrer acting, by orthrough the spring, to cause said means to'yieldingly start theoperative movement of the actuating device.

' 11. Arotatable filling-feeder to hold aseries of circularly-arrangedfilling-carriers, a transferrer, means movable therewith to normallylock the feeder, a device to start and effect advance movement of thefeeder, and means, including a spring, intermediatesaid device and thetransferrer, operative movement of the latter unlocking the feeder andthereafter positively moving the said device into starting position,return movement of the transferrer acting to compress the spring andthrough said means operate the said device to efiect advance of thefeeder without shock.

12. A rotatable filling-feeder to hold a series of circularly-arrangedfilling-carriers, an attached ratchet, a cooperating pawl, a transferrerhaving an angular movement independent of the pawl, a connection betweenthe latter and the transferrer to positively set the pawl by operativemovement of the transferrer, and a spring between said pawl andconnection to yieldingly move the pawl and advance the feeder by returnmovement of the transferrer.

13. A rotatable filling-feeder to hold a series of circularly-arrangedfilling-carriers, an attached ratchet, a rocking andlongitudinallymovable cooperating pawl, a-transferrer having an angularmovement independent of the pawl, means to positively rock and set thepawl by or through the operative movement of the transferrer, and aspring intermediate said pawl and transferrer to yieldingly operate thepawl on return of the transferrer to normal position.

14. Arotatable filling-feeder to hold aseries of circularly-arrangedfilling-carriers, an attached ratchet, a transferrer, alongitudinallymovable, spring-controlled pawl mounted coaxially with thetransferrer and cooperating with the ratchet, a pawl-setter carried bythe transferrer and acting to positively set the pawl by operative'movement of the transferrer, and a spring interposed between the pawland transferrer to operatively move the pawl and advance the feeder byor through return movement of the transferrer, said pawl movinglongitudinally to click over the ratchet during setting movement.

15. A rotatable filling-feeder to hold a series of circularly-arrangedfilling-carriers, an attached ratchet, a transferrer, alongitudinallymovable pawl fulcrumed coaxially with the transferrer, aspring to maintain the pawl in cooperative relation with the ratchet, apawlsetter movable with the transferrer and acting to positively set thepawl by or through operative movement of the transferrer, and a springinterposed between the transferrer and pawl and compressed by returnmovement of the transferrer to operatively move the pawl in a yieldingmanner and thereby advance the feeder without shock.

16. A movable filling-feeder, a transferrer, means to move the feedersaid means including a pawl, a spring interposed betweenthe pawl andtransferrer, and a positively-acting pawlsetter, operative movement ofthe transferrer operating the pawl-setter, and return movement of saidtransferrer compressing the spring and acting through it upon the pawlto effect movement of the feeder.

' 17 A rotatable filling-feeder including a peripherally-notched endmember, a detent cooperating therewith to prevent retrograde movement ofthe feeder, a transferrer, means to move the feeder, said meansincluding a pawl, a spring interposed between it and the transferrer,and a yoke-like member rigidly mounted on said transferrer, operativemovement of the latter positively engaging and setting the pawl, returnmovement of the transferrer compressing the spring and acting through itupon the pawl to effect advance movement of the feeder.

18. A rotatable filling-feeder, an attached ratchet, an actuating-pawlto cooperate therewith and advance the feeder, a transferrer, apawl-setter rigidly mounted thereon to engage and positively set thepawl by operative movement of the transferrer, a spring interposedbetween the pawl and transferrer, return movement of the lattercompressing the spring and yieldingly moving the pawl to advance thefeeder, and a fixed stop for and to positively limit such movement ofthe pawl.

19. A rotatable filling-feeder, an attached ratchet, an actuating-pawlto cooperate therewith and advance the feeder, a transferrer, apawlsetter rigidly mounted thereon to engage and positively set the pawlby operative movement of the transferrer, a spring interposed betweenthe pawl and transferrer, return movement of the latter compressing thespring and yieldingly moving the pawl to advance the feeder, a fixedstop for and to limit such movement of the pawl, and a lockingfinger onthe transferrer, to normally engage the ratchet and lock the feeder, thepawl and its stop also cooperating to lock the feeder when thetransferrer is at rest.

20. A rotatable filling-feeder, an attached ratchet, an actuating-pawlto cooperate therewith and advance the feeder, a transferrer having arigid arm overhanging and normally disengaged from the pawl, operativemovement of the transferrer causing said arm to engage and positivelyset the pawl, a spring interposed between the pawl and transferrer andcompressed by return movement of the latter, to thereby yieldinglyoperate the pawl and advance the feeder, and a fixed abutment to engageand stop the pawl when the feeder 5 has been advanced a predeterminedamount.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JOHN C. EDWARDS.

Witnesses:

ELIZABETH R. MORRISON, EMILY G. HODGES.

